Exploring the southwestern foot of the Mátra stretching towards the Alföld

Itinerary:

• We follow the P mark from Szurdokpüspöki over the Nagy-Hársas to the saddle of Tarcod Hill.
• We continue on the P+ mark from the saddle southwards to the Széleskő Mine and the lake formed inside it.
• We take a detour to the mine entrance on the P● mark.
• We follow the P+ mark to the summit of Somlyó Hill.
• From the summit of Somlyó Hill we take the P◼ mark heading southwest down to the village, which leads to the bus stop at Petőfi Square.

About the route in detail:

To the crest of Nagy-Hársas

We start from the southern end of Szurdokpüspöki along the section of road leading out of the village marked with P on Gyöngyösi Street. After leaving the houses behind, the sign turns off the main road onto a path through scrubby forest where we cross the weak flow of Szurdok Creek. The defining landscape feature, the densely forested cone of Nagy-Hársas, looms above us ominously, hinting at the tough challenge awaiting climbers.

Nagy-Hársas is the last major protrusion of the Mátra before its gently undulating hills blend into the filled, flat basin of the Alföld. Despite its perfect volcanic cone shape, the volcano formed 14 million years ago has been significantly reshaped. The entire mountain range was fractured and tilted by plate tectonic movements and was steeply eroded during glaciations, especially on the northern sides.

This steep, frost-shattered surface greets us as we ascend from the north. The initially gentle slope becomes increasingly steep without mercy as we leave behind the acacia groves at the village edge and then planted oak forests. On the rocky northern side, natural mixed forests can already be seen. Besides the dominant oaks, hornbeam and ash join, with some beeches occurring in shaded upper parts. Suddenly, the path emerges from the rocky dark slope onto a distinct northwestern ridge; from here we cover the remaining few hundred meters of elevation along the sunny crest. Vegetation visibly changes on the sunny side: cold- and moisture-loving species disappear, and we climb through shrubby, gnarled oak forests.

Reaching the summit, the surveying tower of the geodetic network familiar from the country’s mountains welcomes us. Unfortunately, it has fallen into ruin, so we cannot enjoy the excellent view from its top anymore. From here, we proceed through sunlit yet dense oak-ash forests along the mountainside. We descend on the much gentler southern slope to a saddle narrowing at the foot of the mountain, where we can enjoy splendid panoramic views towards Gyöngyös to the east and the southern foreland of the Mátra.

The surrounding hills are now mainly composed of arable fields or secondary forests established after abandonment of agricultural use. Unfortunately, the alien, species-poor acacia is a constant or defining element of the landscape from here onward. The surrounding hills once hosted rich vineyards on their sunlit southern slopes, but the phylloxera epidemic at the end of the 19th century drastically reduced vineyard areas. Nowadays, vine-growing has mostly revived around villages of the southern Mátra foreland, mainly near Gyöngyös.

The Széles-kő Mine Lake

From the saddle we continue on the P+ mark through young forests on the western side of Tarcod Hill. The contour path sharply turns down in a gully leading to the valley that hides the Széles-kő mine and the lake formed in it. We can see the mine and its vertical walls from the tourist path’s turn around the mine; we take a short detour into the mine courtyard on the P● mark. We descend steeply in the mountainside to the entrance and turn into the inner hollow.

Mining began here in the mid-19th century by the estate owners for extracting building stone. Thanks to the then-current manual excavation techniques, the andesite mined for construction separated well vertically, creating distinct mine walls. We cannot see the true dimensions of the walls because the mine bottom lies 5–10 meters below the lake’s water level. The view is impressive: the northern and southeastern sides rise with 15–20 meter-high walls above the lake’s surface, which shimmers from emerald green to silvery white. The water, filled by precipitation, contains no sediment and darkens by vegetation by late summer. Its inhabitants include crucian carps, roach, pikes, catfish, and also notably large stone loaches that can be caught here. In summer the place is a popular bathing spot for locals and visitors from nearby towns. From the top of the steep walls you can dive in, or swing into the water from the so-called "Tarzan swing," a rope attached to a branch over the water. The uniqueness of the place is underlined by the "waterline"—a slackline stretched over the water surface fixed to a rock—where balance artists sometimes perform acrobatics above the lake.

The Somlyó of Apc

From the mine we climb back to the P+ mark, then walk through young forests and past meadows near Ferencmajor. The landscape is dominated by the perfectly semicircular hill of Somlyó, which the tourist path reaches after some winding.

Along the forest edge covering the hill’s crest we traverse for a long stretch, then cut into the forest through a clearing on the northern side. After overcoming the gentle slope, we emerge from scrubbiness onto the open plateau of the hilltop, revealing a perfect panorama of the Mátra, the southern foothills of the Cserhát, and the Alföld. On clear days, the Buda Hills are visible, and the sunset can be fully enjoyed from the summit with a view spanning the entire western sky. A telescope is recommended for clear weather visits.

Below the highest point on the village side, a wooden cross commemorates a chapel from the 19th century that no longer exists; only its bell chimes from the tower of the Baroque church in Apc. Around the summit is a discernible terrace-like area and a 60–80 meter radius surrounding earthwork, which are remnants of a late Bronze Age earth fort on Somlyó.

The southern side of Somlyó is home to valuable plant and animal life. The slopes merging with the flat Alföld and their southern exposure represent one of the last refuges for many warm-loving species severely diminished by agriculture. In the southwest clearing called Miskolci side, there are fields of prairie smoke. On the steep, rocky western side, lizards thrive well. The agile lizard and the colorful green lizard are found here, as well as populations of the Pannonian lizard. The small brown lizard species with short legs moves in a snake-like, awkward manner, hiding in dense vegetation to evade predators and living quick everyday lives. The lizard species widespread from the Balkans to Egypt was first recorded in Hungary on Sas Hill, giving it its name.

From the summit, the P◼ mark leads almost vertically down the southwestern side by shrubby meadows on the southern slope to Rákóczi Road. There is a bus stop at the junction, but it is worth walking a few hundred meters further to the village center, where a direct bus runs from Petőfi Square to Hatvan or back to Szurdokpüspöki. Some snacks can also be found here.